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Involvement in learningA kindergarten child is a confident and involved knower and learner. They:• build dispositions for learning such as curiosity, cooperation, confidence, creativity, commitment, enthusiasm, persistence,

imagination and reflexivity• apply a range of skills and processes such as problem-solving, enquiry, experimentation, hypothesising, researching and

investigating.

Planned learning

Educators focus on the following aspects of children’s learning:• delight and wonder in the environment and world around

them• curiosity, motivation and enthusiasm for learning• the ability to sustain involvement and concentration in

play and learning• awareness of useful strategies and skills for learning• desire to find out, research, discover, test, solve problems

and consider possibilities • confidence to become involved in and contribute to

learning conversations• willingness to pursue interests, carry out plans and

participate in ongoing investigations• creativity and imagination in representing thoughts and

ideas • ability to generate ideas and solutions, to innovate and

invent• ability to revisit and reflect on the learning process.

Pedagogy

Educators intentionally promote this learning, for example, when they:• build on culturally valued ways of knowing and learning,

e.g. through storytelling, visual and kinesthetic learning,relationships and connections

• provide multiple opportunities for children to creatively represent their thoughts and ideas through the visual arts,music, dance, performance, imaginative play, puppetry and storytelling

• encourage experimentation by adding complexity tochildren’s thinking and ideas — ‘Perhaps we could try this way?’, ‘Can you think of another way?’, ‘I wonder what happens if we try it this way?’

• make connections to past, present and future learning —‘Can you remember how you did it before?’

• use explicit language to describe thinking processes —‘That’s a good idea’, ‘Let’s think about that a bit more’,‘We could solve this together’

• question children about their thinking — ‘How do youknow?’, ‘Can you show me how to do it?’, ‘How could wefind out?’

• celebrate new ideas and creative ways of doing things • create environments that encourage collaborative and

independent learning• map and document learning for the purposes of revisiting

and reflecting with children, e.g. ‘Let’s take a photo so wecan remember’, ‘We can write it down’

• provide reference books, pictures, posters, maps andtechnologies to support children’s investigations

• ensure that the environment can accommodate creativeexperiences and ongoing investigations that continue overa number of days

• involve children in reflecting on their own learning by revisiting documented experiences

• display delight, encouragement and enthusiasm forchildren’s attempts to gain new skills and knowledge.

Being a learner

As you reflect on your practices, ask yourself:

What do I know about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing and learning and how are these incorporated within the program?

Do I model curiosity and wonder in my interactions with children?

Am I listening to and extending on the children’s ideas?

How can I organise the day to incorporate long periods of uninterrupted play?

Do I allow time and space for projects and works-in-progress to evolve over a number of days or weeks?

How could families contribute their ideas?

How could I extend children’s interests and ongoing projects into the community?

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Documenting and reflecting

Educators look for evidence of children’s learning, for example:

In the familiar contexts of family and community when children:

In new and unfamiliar contexts of kindergarten when children:

In the familiar contexts of a culturally secure kindergarten when children:

• demonstrate curiosity, enjoyment and enthusiasm for learning

• use their skills as an observer to learn

• watch carefully what others are doing, imitate their actions and repeat ways of using objects and materials

• look to other children for support in learning, e.g. older brothers, sisters, cousins and friends

• use ‘where’ as an important and frequent question, e.g. ‘where your mob from’, and avoiding questions about ‘why’ or ‘when’

• prefer collaborating with others and achieving collectively.

Add points relevant to your context

• show interest by listening to or observing others engage with learning materials

• prefer to listen to or watch others discuss and solve problems

• respond to demonstration and modelled ways for exploring materials

• show caution about making mistakes

• contribute their ideas in small group situations with the support of familiar or like-speaking adults

• explore ways to use materials to represent their thoughts and ideas in creative ways with encouragement and support

• make choices about and sustain interest in learning experiences with support.

Add points relevant to your context

• sustain concentration to identify problems and experiment with solutions

• use novel and creative strategies to achieve tasks

• contribute ideas in group discussions,• seek out and organise new learning

opportunities individually and with others

• ask questions to enquire about and extend their interests

• reflect and give reasons for their choices

• use books and technology to enquire about topics

• record ideas, share stories and make plans with others

• comment on their own learning, e.g. ‘I’ve got an idea’ ‘I think …’.

Add points relevant to your context

Early Years Learning Framework Outcome 4: Children are confident and involved learnes.

Investigating environmentsA kindergarten child explores, investigates and connects with people, land, place, time and technology. They:• transfer and adapt what they have learned from one context to another and from one time to another• resource their own learning through connecting with people, place, technologies, and natural and processed materials• use information and communication technologies (ICTs) to access information, investigate ideas and represent their thinking.

Planned learning

Educators focus on the following aspects of children’s learning:• ability to transfer and adapt knowledge and skills used in

one situation to another and from one time to another• interest and engagement in finding out how things work,

how things grow, how things move and how to make things happen, including cause and effect

• confidence to plan, resource and organise their own learning • interest in investigating the ways ICTs can be used to

access information, communicate, entertain, design, compose and create, and represent

• interest in and engagement with the traditional and contemporary visual art, craft, live music and performance of the community and the wider world.

Pedagogy

Educators intentionally promote this learning, for example, when they:• build on children’s knowledge of people, land, place, time

and technology, e.g. knowledge of local environmental cycles including seasonal change, bush food and seasonal animals, relationships, hunting, fishing, tides, heat, wind, oceans and navigation

• invite Elders to share knowledge about local features of spiritual significance

• adapt stories, songs and games to reflect local names, places and phenomena, in FLs and SAE

• research and become familiar with aspects of the local community and the cultural protocols pertaining to them

• incorporate opportunities for children to investigate the ways technology is used within the context of community, e.g. mobile phone networks, computers, radio, rock breaking, prawn farming, mining, satellite navigation

• provide access to computers, software, projectors, lights, digital cameras, scanners, white boards, mobile phones, iPads, keyboards and other forms of digital technology to support learning

• provide access to a wide range of natural and manufactured materials and resources — clay, rocks, pebbles, sand, water, fabrics, palm leaves, feathers, shells, drift wood, wood, fibres, natural dyes and pigments, ochre

• provide a range of scientific resources to support investigations — hoses, pumps, magnets, funnels, scales, magnifying glasses, wheels, pulleys

• incorporate opportunities for children to explore culturally valued artistic representation, material culture and craft

• introduce opportunities for children to work alongside community artists, musicians, craftspeople, performers and musicians

• provide opportunities to investigate the sounds, smells and tastes of the community and the communities of others

• provide many opportunities to explore sound, rhythm and beat through traditional and contemporary music, movement and dance.

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Being a learner

As you reflect on your practices, ask yourself:

In what ways do I use the cultural tools of the community to inspire children’s thinking?

What do I know about children’s knowledge of land, place and technology?

Have I considered the sacred nature of children’s connectedness to the land? Are there protocols that need to be investigated before discussing certain aspects of land and place?

Have I consulted with Elders and community members to learn more about land, place and technology within the context of community?

Are children able to represent their ideas in their own ways and are materials always available to support children’s creative endeavours?

Are children’s creative representations displayed respectfully?

What do I know about children’s knowledge of ICTs? Do they know how to use, and have access to, cameras, the internet, mobile phones, satellite, iPads, DVDs and CDs?

Documenting and reflecting

Educators look for evidence of children’s learning, for example:

In the familiar contexts of family and community when children:

In new and unfamiliar contexts of kindergarten when children:

In the familiar contexts of a culturally secure kindergarten when children:

• show interest in and ability to watch, repeat and practise the actions of others to learn

• show an ability to orient themselves within the wider geographic area

• comment on natural phenomena, animals, birds, sea creatures, plants, landmarks, and familiar aspects of land and place

• notice and comment on changes in the environment — seasons, shadows, reflections and the passing of the day

• have experience with a range of digital technologies, e.g. satellite navigation, mobile phones, internet.

Add points relevant to your context

• with the support of FL-speaking adults, share their knowledge and connection with the natural world

• show some interest in investigating how things work

• show some interest in taking photos using digital cameras and show these to peers and adults

• follow an adult’s lead to plan, organise and resource their learning and explore ways of using materials and resources

• interact with computers to navigate games, e.g. manipulate the mouse, scroll, navigate the screen, touch the screen with the support and encouragement of familiar adults

• show interest in engaging with the visual art, craft, music and performance of their community and others.

Add points relevant to your context

• confidently share their knowledge, connection and interest in the natural and technological world

• experiment and demonstrate delight in finding out how things work, cause and effect, and how to make things happen — blowing, pushing, pulling, rolling, sinking, swinging, taking apart and putting together

• apply knowledge learned in one context, time or situation to another

• experiment with ways to create music • use websites, interactive whiteboards,

books, maps and posters to access information and investigate ideas

• use a digital camera to record images and voices, and reflect on their own learning

• experiment with colour, line, shape, texture, size and repetition as they paint, draw, sculpt and model using objects, tools and materials in new and novel ways.

Add points relevant to your context

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Early Years Learning Framework Outcome 4: Children are confident and involved learnes.

Language/sA kindergarten child explores and expands ways to use language. They:• interact verbally and non-verbally with others for a range of purposes.

Planned learning

Educators focus on the following aspects of children’s learning:• enjoyment and engagement in communicating and

interacting with peers and adults • ability to construct and clearly convey messages that

exchange ideas, thoughts, questions and feelings • vocabulary for describing experiences, sharing interests

and communicating knowledge and understanding• confidence to contribute ideas and experiences, share

information or retell happenings • use of different sentence structures to comment, ask a

question, give direction or explain a relationship• awareness that there are different ways to interact and

communicate in particular social and cultural situations• skills for listening and taking turns in conversations• ability to attend to, interpret and follow directions.

Pedagogy

Educators intentionally promote this learning, for example, when they:• know about, recognise and support the development of

children’s FL as well as SAE• work in partnership with first language speaking colleagues,

families, Elders and community members to support children’s language learning and traditional language heritage

• model language and encourage children to express themselves in their FLs and SAE

• respond sensitively to children’s efforts to communicate• engage in conversations and interactions with children, that

intentionally include open-ended questions, extension of ideas and labelling of unfamiliar concepts

• incorporate songs, jingles and rhymes that immerse children in the sounds, structures, patterns and intonation at every opportunity

• provide ample opportunity for children to speak and listen to first languages and SAE, e.g. during group sharing times, routines and rituals, and throughout play

• respond to children’s attempts and approximations by repeating, modelling and expanding words

• contextualise shared texts, songs and rhymes to reflect children’s experiences in family and community

• use puppets, familiar artefacts, photographs, pictures and visual supplements to extend vocabulary and promote understanding

• use visual cues to support children’s understanding of verbal information, e.g. stop, look , listen chart, pair of eyes or an ear

• introduce new words during conversations, familiar routines and shared rituals

• provide games, dance and movement experiences that involve simple directions and instructions

• make explicit the speaking and listening practices used in group and social situations, e.g. ‘Can I have a turn please?’.

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Being a communicator

As you reflect on your practices, ask yourself:

What languages do the children in the kindergarten speak? Where do I go for support to find out about the children’s first languages?

Do I work with adults who speak the same languages as the children in the kindergarten program?

What strategies and resources can I use to support children’s first language/s development?

What strategies and resources can I use to help children who speak a language other than SAE develop their awareness about and use of SAE?

What are the traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language/s associated with the area where the kindergarten is located?

Where can I go for help with developing a kindergarten program that supports children’s language learning?

N.B. children may experience delays in FL and auditory skills due to the effects of conductive hearing loss. If children appear to have delays in FL compared to their FL-speaking peers, this should be investigated.

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Documenting and reflecting

Educators look for evidence of children’s learning, for example:

In the familiar contexts of family and community when children:

In new and unfamiliar contexts of kindergarten when children:

In the familiar contexts of a culturally secure kindergarten when children:

• notice the existence of languages in the community and the wider world

• use or respond to several languages and varieties, e.g. traditional languages, creoles, varieties of English, e.g. Aboriginal English, SAE, American English

• confidently interact and convey meaning with peers and familiar adults in their first languages

• confidently use non-verbal interactional skills and a variety of signs and gestures

• show understanding of the conventions of social interaction appropriate to their community and home culture.

Add points relevant to your context

• attend and give cues that they are listening to and understanding what is said to them

• use body language, point, look and gesture to express feelings and communicate understanding

• if they are first language speakers, respond in ways that may seem inappropriate when not able to be understood by others or in comprehending interactions

• use one-word utterances or a short series of single words to convey feelings, needs, ideas and experiences

• answer questions by pointing or using non-verbal gestures

• join in or mimick others in finger plays, songs and rhymes using some word approximations, gestures and related body movements

• take some initiative in communicating independently in conversations.

Add points relevant to your context

• convey and construct messages with purpose and confidence in at least one language

• verbally share ideas, engage in conversations and listen to the ideas of others during play and small and large group experiences

• listen without prompts to stories, music, discussions

• seek assistance to learn new words, describe experiences and interests or articulate thoughts

• use an increasing vocabulary to describe what they know, think, hear, feel, see, taste and touch

• retell happenings, ask questions and follow simple instructions

• show sustained interest in conversations with others by contributing ideas or sharing information

• listen to the conversation of others and wait for a turn to speak.

Add points relevant to your context

Early Years Learning Framework Outcome 5: Children are effective communicators.

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Literacy A kindergarten child engages with multiple forms of literacy that build bridges between family and community contexts and new learning. They:• engage with a range of texts and gaining meaning from these texts• express ideas and make meaning using a range of media• explore symbols and patterns in language• build confidence and interest in exploring reading and writing behaviours.

Planned learning

Educators focus on the following aspects of children’s learning:• interest and enjoyment in engaging with multiple forms of

literacy including music, movement, dance, storytelling, visual arts, media and drama, technologies and digital media

• pleasure and engagement in viewing, listening to and sharing a range of texts, including the oral traditions and stories shared through Elders and community members

• confidence to respond with relevant gestures, actions, comments or questions to oral, printed, visual and multimedia texts

• awareness of key literacy concepts and processes, including the sounds and patterns in speech, stories and rhymes, letter–sound relationships, concepts of print and the ways texts are structured

• understanding that symbols convey meaning and that ideas, thoughts and concepts can be represented through them

• awareness that texts can be viewed from a range of different perspectives.

Pedagogy

Educators intentionally promote this learning, for example, when they:• learn about and build on the literacies children bring from

family and community in consultation with Elders and community members

• read and tell stories, sing and interact with children at every opportunity

• provide FL translations to stories, songs and rhymes written or spoken in SAE

• allow ample opportunity for children to select, engage with, share and enjoy quality picture and information books, images and multimedia

• provoke children’s thinking about the features of books, stories and websites, e.g. ‘I wonder what will happen next?’, ‘Let’s turn the page’, ‘The end!’ ‘Let’s google it’ ‘I think we need to scroll down a bit further’

• draw attention to using print in everyday situations, e.g. ‘Let’s write this down so that we can remember’, ‘This says …’, ‘Look, this is your name!’

• provide intentional prompts to assist children in recalling stories, e.g. ‘Can you remember when …?’

• talk about letters and their sounds in emerging situations relevant to children’s experiences and interests

• scribe children’s spoken words, plans and ideas in FLs and SAE and explain that spoken words can be written down and read later

• acknowledge and value children’s effort and experimentation in their emerging literacy understandings, e.g. ‘What story will we read today?’ ‘This must be your favorite?’ ‘I bet you know what comes next’

• provide multiple materials that support children’s literacy explorations, e.g. books, writing tools and natural and man-made implements, materials, magazines, newspapers, technologies, music, charts, diagrams, maps, plans, recipes and instructions

• provide special spaces for viewing books and reading quietly together

• encourage and support families in contributing to their children’s literacy learning

• support children to document and share their experiences, using drawings, written comments or digital technologies.

Being a communicator

As you reflect on your practices, ask yourself:

Is this environment saturated in the print, signs and symbols of children’s first languages and SAE?

What opportunities do I provide for children to learn through observation, participation and non-verbal communication?

Have I considered children’s full repertoire of verbal and non-verbal literacies, such as dance, music, symbols, custom, ICT, kinships systems, oral traditions and stories, material culture and art?

Do I know about the songs and rhymes that children sing in the context of family and community?

How can families and community contribute to my understanding of children’s literacy learning?

How could I extend children’s literacy learning in the home?

Documenting and reflecting

Educators look for evidence of children’s learning, for example:

In the familiar contexts of family and community when children:

In new and unfamiliar contexts of kindergarten when children:

In the familiar contexts of a culturally secure kindergarten when children:

• confidently use and understand non-verbal body language

• read and interpret local symbols of the natural environment, e.g. seasonal cycles, stars and constellations, animals and their tracks

• possess some understanding of the complex relationships in their extended family networks and their own languages and dialects

• repeat patterns with dots, lines, circles in the dirt using sticks or fingers

• recognise familiar logos in the community

• listen attentively to the stories of communities, connections to country, seas, waterways and sky, spiritual beliefs and cultural practices as shared by Elders and community members.

Add points relevant to your context

• initiate reading experiences by handing a book to familiar adults

• become aware that their name can be written

• locate their name or name some letters or sounds from their names with some support

• interact with texts in a random manner, e.g. flip through the pages, point to pictures

• make personal links to familiar texts, e.g. ‘I got dog’

• make random marks to represent an image or experiment with making marks on paper

• follow sequences of photographs to complete tasks, e.g. washing hands

• enjoy looking though photo collections to recognise themselves and familiar peers and adults.

Add points relevant to your context

• demonstrate pleasure and interest in new and familiar texts and stories

• display reading-like behaviour, e.g. hold a book the right way, turn the pages, pretend to read

• demonstrate interest in using symbols and approximating writing messages during play and shared experiences, e.g. pretend to write emails, letters, notes or signs and contribute to group plans and lists scribed by others

• recognise and respond to print and symbols within the environment and community, notice their name or point to some familiar letters or words

• create random shapes and lines when painting or drawing

• demonstrate an understanding of the difference between writing and drawing.

Add points relevant to your context

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Early Years Learning Framework Outcome 5: Children are effective communicators.

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Being a communicator

NumeracyA kindergarten child engages with numeracy experiences that build bridges between family and community contexts and new learning. They:• begin to understand how symbols and pattern systems work• build confidence and interest in counting • explore mathematical thinking, concepts and language.

Planned learning

Educators focus on the following aspects of children’s learning:• interest in exploring, recognising and making connections

between patterns and relationships in everyday situations • developing awareness and understanding of the symbol

systems associated with number, time and money• interest in counting, sorting, categorising, ordering and

comparing collections, and in predicting sequences and events

• developing ability to describe the attributes and properties of shapes, objects and materials

• developing vocabulary to convey mathematical thinking and ideas

• increasing understanding of mathematical concepts using vocabulary or gesture to describe size, length, volume, capacity, number, position, direction, time and money

• interest in creating and using representation to organise, record and communicate mathematical ideas and concepts.

Pedagogy

Educators intentionally promote this learning, for example, when they:• use numbers spontaneously or in everyday conversations

and interactions, e.g. during finger plays, games, songs, rhymes and chants

• incorporate cultural events, symbols and experiences that involve patterns of repeated sequences, e.g. in movement, songs, art, games, dance, manipulative play, routines and stories

• draw children’s attention to patterns in the environment such as leaves in sunlight, waves on sand, spider webs, bark on trees, birds in the sky, tracks in the sand

• encourage experimentation with space, measurement, position, sorting and classification

• provide explicit prompts to help children make abstract connections, e.g. ‘Look at this one — it’s bigger than that one’, ‘Can you see a big one too?’

• draw attention to and label concepts of difference, such as ‘more’ and ‘less’, ‘big’ and ‘small’, ‘over’ and ‘under’

• draw attention to and label numerical symbols in the environment, e.g. calendars and clocks, page numbers in books, number plates on cars, signs and advertising, keyboards, mobile phones, GPS

• engage children in discussions about symbol systems, such as letters, numbers, time, money and musical notation

• model the process of counting to solve everyday problems, e.g. ‘How many do you think we need?’ ‘Let’s count together?’

• provoke thought in children’s everyday conversations, e.g. ‘I wonder if it’s full yet?’ ‘That’s a big one!’ ‘Let’s look under the table?’

• provide intentional prompts to assist children to recall numeracy ideas, e.g. ‘Can you remember when we counted up to 5?’

• support children’s contribution to mathematical and scientific discussions and arguments

• acknowledge children’s effort, interest and experimentation with numeracy ideas, e.g. ‘Let’s make a list’, ‘Draw a plan’

• provide multiple opportunities for children to experiment with the properties of sand, water, blocks and natural materials

• incorporate opportunities to make a whole, take away from, or cut in half, e.g. games, clay, play dough and cooking experiences.

Being a communicator

As you reflect on your practices, ask yourself:

What everyday numeracy experiences can I use to introduce new learning?

In what ways do the children demonstrate their numeracy knowledge in the context of their family and community?

Do the learning opportunities that I plan connect with what the children know?

How can I embed opportunities for numeracy learning across all areas of the kindergarten program?

What do I know about the numeracy concepts in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures?

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Documenting and reflecting

Educators look for evidence of children’s learning, for example:

In the familiar contexts of family and community when children:

In new and unfamiliar contexts of kindergarten when children:

In the familiar contexts of a culturally secure kindergarten when children:

• use environmental markers to determine direction and position

• make sense and order of their world through kinship patterns and relationships

• mimick counting, e.g. 1, 4, 3• hold up fingers to indicate ‘how

many’ or ‘how old they are’, e.g. ‘I dis many’

• show an acute sense of spatial awareness and an intuitive feel for the surroundings and the objects in them

• understand time in terms of, for example, night time, day time, bird hunting season, bush food picking seasons

• make designs and patterns in play, dance and art.

Add points relevant to your context

• play randomly with materials and resources

• use gesture to communicate size, e.g. use hands to indicate ‘how big’ ‘how long’

• use modelled language to talk about the properties of shapes or patterns

• experiment with combining objects and parts, e.g. a puzzle, a mobile truck

• attempt to use words to describe shapes, e.g. round, square, star

• imitate adults or other children using money in play

• begin to respond to simple one-step directions to show understanding of position, e.g. ‘Sit on the chair’, ‘Put the rubbish in the bin’.

Add points relevant to your context

• explore, sort and describe the attributes of objects and collections

• experiment in play with mathematical tools, such as rulers, tape measures, calculators, scales and measuring cups

• dismantle, reassemble and combine objects and parts with purpose

• recite number names in familiar songs, finger plays and games

• respond to directions involving position, e.g. ‘over’, ‘under’, ‘on’, ‘up’, ‘down’

• respond to concepts such as big, small, long, short, high, low, full, empty, heavy, light in play

• recognise some comparative language, e.g. ‘This one is bigger’ ‘I need more’

• use words like ‘long’ and ‘tall’ in simple sentences

• pretend to exchange money in play• respond to ‘time’ words such as start,

finish, begin and end.

Add points relevant to your context

Early Years Learning Framework Outcome 5: Children are effective communicators.